As a method of protecting stock materials such as textiles, it is known to apply a layer of protective plastic sheeting, often called carpet masking. In the automobile industry, this technique is used with new automobiles. Sheets of flexible plastic are applied to new automobile carpeting at the factory in order to protect the carpeting and maintain its new appearance until the dealer is ready to deliver the car to a purchaser. At that time, the dealer removes factory-applied protective materials, including the plastic carpet masking film on the carpeting.
The art of applying protective plastic film is technically sophisticated and requires individual analysis of each type of carpeting. As a general practice, each manufacturer must individually adapt the process to each of his specific carpet offerings; and each model year may involve enough variation in the offered carpets that the individual analysis must be repeated and the results modified. The challenging aspect is found in the need to adhere the plastic to the carpeting so that it serves its purpose until time for removal, while at the same time the adhesive must allow the plastic to be removed from the carpeting without leaving residue or causing any damage or discoloration to the carpeting. The types of adhesive that performs adequately is individualized to specific characteristics of the carpeting. Thus, for example, an adhesive formulation may have to be changed to conform to the percentage of specific fibers in the pile, pile length, and density. The choice of plastic sheeting type also may require reformulation.
Only new carpeting has been adequately diagnosed to allow the use of removably adhered plastic sheeting. Used carpeting includes many unknown variables that have prevented use of carpet masking film. One such variable is the composition of the carpet fiber, which tends to be unknown by the time a car enters the used market. Although it would appear possible to research what carpet fiber was supplied in each model of used car, obtaining such information would be pointless. The film and adhesive specifically formulated for the carpet in a used car is unlikely to be in production anymore. Even if the film could be obtained, it likely would not adhere properly, due to the used and unrecoverable condition of the carpet. Consequently, a major problem in adapting carpet masking film to used carpet is that the film and adhesive that once worked when the car was new will not work in the car's later life.
In the used car market, it cannot be reliably predicted that an adhesive will work with even a professionally cleaned, shampooed carpet. Automobile carpet tends to be contaminated with a wide variety of unknown impurities, the full scope of which is limitless. Some of the more commonly anticipated contaminants are sand, dirt and dust of any variety in the pile; waxes, oils, and grease from new or old shoe prints; residual soap, cleaning byproducts and chemicals; food and drink spillage; and salt, fertilizer, and other chemicals used on roads, sidewalks, lawns, and gardens. With the added complication that different fiber compositions and pile characteristics require special adhesives even in the new car market, it is clear that a new technology is needed if refurbished used cars are to reliably benefit from adhered but removable plastic sheeting on their carpets.
Some chemicals or their derivatives that are useful in the present invention have been employed in cleaning products, although the method of use, concentration, or associated preparatory steps apparently have been insufficient to produce the desired result. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,859 to Kirn et al. teaches a modifier for carpet shampoo that contains acrylic copolymer that may include methacrylic acids and methyl methacrylate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,409 to Boardman teaches a stain blocking composition containing methacrylic polymers, which are useful for treating nylon carpet. While these compositions and treatments employing them may be useful in protecting or cleaning carpet, no previously known technique has overcome the specific problems of reliably adhering protective, removable plastic sheets to used carpet.
It would be desirable to have a technology that places used carpeting into a predictable condition so that a single satisfactory process and composition can be used to apply removable, protective plastic sheeting.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the method of applying protective plastic sheeting of this invention may comprise the following.